"Surfing" and related water sports have gained increasing popularity in the United States and around the world, particularly with the advent of windsurfing. Because of the increased interest in surfing, there has been a desire to improve the construction of surfboards to make surfboards lightweight and durable thus providing a rider with a product which is not only longevous but which also maximizes his performance on the water.
Prior to the 1950's, surfboards were typically constructed of lightweight wood and laminated in order to protect the integrity of the wood. In the 1950's, the first fiberglass covered surfboards were constructed thus decreasing the weight and increasing the surfboard's performance. In addition, wooden board cores began to be replaced by even lighter polyurethane foam cores which provided the surfboard with greater longevity. Unfortunately, such foam alone did not possess sufficient material strength to maintain the structural integrity of the board. Foam board cores thus required the addition of wooden stringers to provide web strength to the board. This type of structure limited the number of designs that were sturdy enough for manufacture. In addition, foam surfboards generally did not last more than a year with frequent use. For example, air bubbles tended to form between the fiberglass and the foam thus destroying the structural integrity of the board.
In order to alleviate these problems, other materials have replaced foam in an attempt to increase the structural integrity of the surfboard core. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,038 to Hancock et al. teaches a water ski constructed with aluminum in a honeycomb orientation. Although the aluminum ski core disclosed in Hancock could theoretically provide a sturdy alternative to traditional foam cores, in surfboards, an aluminum core is heavier than a foam core and thus would very likely hinder the performance of the board. U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,315 to Hoffman discloses a surfboard which uses phenolic impregnated paper in a honeycomb orientation to constitute the core of the surfboard. Nevertheless, in order for such a core to maintain its shape, it must be further fitted on the top and bottom surfaces with aluminum strips. The resulting structure is heavy in relation to the foam boards and does not perform as well.